Keeper Read handled 'poorly' by Fletcher

England coach Duncan Fletcher's treatment of Chris Read was last night derided as "poor" by the wicketkeeper's county boss.

Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell claims Fletcher does not rate the 28-year-old, who was left out of England's one-day squad for next month's World Cup.

Read was controversially dropped for the Ashes series following his latest recall last summer - and although he regained his place towards the end of the 5-0 whitewash, he again lost his place for the Commonwealth Bank Series. "Chris wasn't given any chance to compete this winter," Newell told BBC Sport. "The man-management of him has been poor. The whole thing has been made very difficult by the way it has been handled - and that has been down to Duncan Fletcher.

"I felt Chris had done enough in the Tests with Pakistan at the end of the summer to earn his place but it didn't prove to be the case.

"He was told two weeks before the first Test in Australia that he wasn't going to be in the side. But if that's the case, how has he got any opportunity to compete for a place?" Newell added.